


Reach Out to the Truth

by baileek313



Series: Turnabout Persona [2]
Category: Persona 4, Persona Series, 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: Everyone Has Issues, Gen, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Phoenix has nothing but good ideas according to him, because this is persona 4, headcanons regarding family are included
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:35:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25749742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baileek313/pseuds/baileek313
Summary: Phoenix Wright is stuck. He’s stuck in a small, mountain town with some family friends for the next year. And all because his mother has business overseas. He expected it to be boring, to be left alone as always. What Phoenix didn't expect was getting roped into solving murders and kidnappings surrounding the mysterious Midnight Channel -- a show that only comes on at midnight while raining. And he certainly didn't expect to come across a world inside of the TV and the strange power it provides.It seemed like this year might not be so quiet after all.
Series: Turnabout Persona [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1867861
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	1. Kurain

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2 of an AU where:  
> Mia is Hamuko/Minako/Kotone  
> Phoenix is Yu/Souji  
> and Apollo is Ren/Akira.
> 
> As of me posting this, P3 hasn't been completed, but I lack impulse control and these fics are really long. Besides... I wanna see if you guys reading this series can put together the pieces and cameos and such that I've sprinkled in throughout the whole main course. So, I'll be posting the main fics (like p3, p4 and p5) concurrently. If I do decide to add the spin-offs into this series (such as arena and dancing all night) they will only be posted after the main fic corresponding with it is finished. So, for example, if I decide to add in Arena to the series, it will only be posted after this fic is done. Cool? Cool.
> 
> This does contain spoilers for Burn My Dread and all that came before it in some regard, so be warned about that. Oh! We also do follow the Golden timeline for various reasons. I might explain why later. I just need to find the right words.  
> It's also WAY longer than Burn My Dread, so be prepared for that. I swear, each game keeps getting longer...!
> 
> Okay! Let's get started with our introduction!

He felt himself moving, and the hum of an engine. The sound of a beautiful piano’s melody filled his ears. Mismatched eyes opened only to see blue. it took another moment for things to come into clarity. He was sitting in a limousine lined with blue velvet… in fact the entire interior was blue. Sitting in front of him were two people: a woman with pale blonde hair and striking golden eyes that wore a dark blue, high-collar dress and an old man with an incredibly long nose. A small table sat between them. Despite being in a moving vehicle, it didn’t seem to move all that much… it made him wonder what exactly what drug he was tripping on to see this.

“Ah… It seems we have a guest with an intriguing destiny…” said the old man with a chuckle. “My name is Igor… I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter… It is a room that only those who are bound by a ‘contract’ may enter… It may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future. Now then… Why don't you introduce yourself…?”

A contract? A room? This wasn’t even a room, it was a car. But still. He felt words come tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them.

“My name… It’s…” he found himself saying, “Phoenix. Phoenix Wright.”

“Hm… I see. Now, let's take a look into your future, shall we? Do you believe in fortune telling?” Phoenix Wright only shrugged. His mother had mentioned some stuff about fortune telling before. It was mostly just stories that she made up to entertain him as a kid. Cards materialized on the table. “Each reading is done with the same cards, yet the result is always different…” Igor chuckled again. “Life itself follows the same principles, doesn't it? Hm…” He flipped over the first card, only to reveal a crumbling tower. “The Tower in the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent.”

Considering what the last thing he remembered was, that warning did not settle well in Phoenix's stomach.

“The card indicating the future beyond that is…” Igor flipped the next car over, revealing a moon. “The Moon, in the upright position. This card represents "hesitation" and "mystery"...Very interesting indeed. It seems you will encounter misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you.” Phoenix bit back a groan. Great, just great. That didn’t seem to comfort the nerves that were already there in the first place. 

“In the coming days, you will enter into a contract of some sort, after which you will return here,” Igor continued. “The coming year is a turning point in your destiny...If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost. My duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that does not happen. Ah! I have neglected to introduce my assistant to you.” He gestured to the woman beside him. “This is Margaret. She is a resident of this place, like myself.”

“My name is Margaret,” said the woman, voice as regal as her appearance. “I am here to accompany you through your journey.” Phoenix only mustered up a nod. He still wasn’t entirely sure what they were talking about when they said “journey”. He opened his mouth to ask about that, but...

“We shall attend to the details another time,” said Igor before Phoenix could get a word out, “Until then, farewell…” He had no voice as the world around him started to fade into darkness once again. The music slowly vanished, replaced with the sound of a blaring train horn.

Phoenix Wright woke from his strange dream with a start. He blinked a few times as reality started to sink back in. He groaned, running a hand down his face. As if things couldn't be bad enough, he had that strange dream on top of it. He sighed, leaning back in his seat and stared out the window as the fading remains of the city turned into what could barely be classified as the suburbs.

He heard the train’s P.A. system call for his stop after what felt like forever. With a huff, Phoenix stood up, snatching up his duffel bag from the seat beside him. Moving to a new town was one thing, ubt this… moving so far out here, away from everything he knew and essentially having to adapt to another environment… Phoenix sighed as the train came to a stop. his was going to be a long day and an even longer year.

The station was unusually empty when he got off. The woman he was going to be staying with was a friend of his mom's. She had told him that she was going to be waiting for him outside of the station… but Phoenix barely saw anyone here. It was like a ghost town.

“Hey! Over here.” Or maybe not. Phoenix followed the sound of the call to a woman standing just outside of hte station, where she promised she would be. As Phoenix got closer, he was able to make out more of her features. She had long brown hair and piercing gray eyes. She couldn’t be that much older than him, too… at least she looked like she was an adult, and his mom did say that she was over eighteen, and therefore able to do it… Phoenix walked up to her, and the woman offered him a grin.

“Well, you’re more handsome than you are in your photo,” she said as soon as Phoenix was close enough for her to get a good look at him. ...well, that was one way to introduce yourself.

“Um… Are you…” Phoenix stared at the woman, a brow raised, “the one who's going to look after me?” Now that he was close enough, he did see that she bore some resemblance to the girl in the photo his mom showed him before leaving.

 _Jeez Mom, please don’t give me a ten year old photo next time you do this!_ Much to his relief, the woman nodded.

“That’s me. Mia Fey. Let me see… your mother and mine were old friends from back in their school days.” Why she felt the need to say that, Phoenix didn’t know. He also didn’t know why Mia reached up and messed with the spikes that made up his hair. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you. I don’t blame you for not recognizing me.”

“I guess it’s been a long time…” Phoenix, as casually as he possibly could, batted her hand away and returned his hair to the pushed-back style it usually settled into. Mia Fey… the name sounded familiar, at least. According to his mother, he spent some time with this woman as a kid. And then they just kinda… stopped talking to him and about them seven years ago. He must’ve forgotten about her…. part of him wondered exactly what happened in the first place.

“I’ll say. You’ve really grown up since the last time I saw you,” Mia continued. Out of the corner of his eye, Phoenix could see someone peeking out from behind her. Whoever it was ducked back behind Mia the moment their eyes met his. Mia looked down at them, a hand gently around their shoulders as she stepped away. Standing behind Mia was a small girl, no older than ten. Her long, black hair was tied back with the exception of the bangs resting on her forehead. Her eyes were eerily similar to Mia’s. “This is my sister, Maya. Maya, don’t you want to say hi to Phoenix?”

“...hello,” said the girl, Maya, in the smallest voice possible. Phoenix could barely hear her. For some reason Mia chuckled.

“What are you being so shy for?” she asked. Maya only responded by ducking back behind her sister and making Mia laugh again. “Maya’s a bit shy. My car is right over here, come on.” Phoenix nodded as Maya bolted towards the oly car parked near the station. He sighed. Well, at least that was out of the way.

He had barely taken a step when something tapped him on the shoulder. He turned, meeting an unfriendly-looking girl who seemed about done with everything that day. And it was only four PM. She held out a piece of paper to him with very familiar handwriting…. wait.

“You dropped this,” said the girl. Phoenix took the slip from her, quickly thanking the girl for picking it up. It was the Feys’ address written down there, and Phoenix didn’t exactly have it memorized yet. “Whatever. All I did was pick it up.”

Mia then called out to Phoenix before he could say anything more. He rushed to the care tossing his bag into the backseat before sliding inside himself.

* * *

**September 9, 2009**

**4:15 PM**

**Kurain Central District**

**Gas Station**

Phoenix, at this point, just wanted to go home. But there would be no one there, and Los Angeles was about two hours away. And that was by train. Mia didn’t think that she would get this low on gas so soon, so the little detour was necessary, he had to admit. He wasn’t going to say how he was feeling about it out loud, though, as he and the other two filed out of the vehicle.

“Can you go to the bathroom on your own?” Mia asked her sister as Maya began to move towards the small store situated by the pumps. Maya gave her a short nod as an attendant made his way to the car in order to do his job.

“It's in the back, to your left,” said the attendant as Maya passed him by. “You know which way is left? The side you don't write with.”

“I know!” Maya called back before disappearing into the store. Phoenix sighed, leaning up against the car door.

“Are you taking a trip?” asked the attendant, turning his attention onto Mia.

“No, we just went to pick him up.” Mia gestured over to Phoenix. Phoenix tried to slump against the car in an effort to disappear, despite being about five foot nine and therefore taller than the car. “He’s moving here from the city.”

“The city, huh…?” He could feel the attendant’s eyes on him. Phoenix wanted to disappear. As if to add onto his bad luck, Mia’s phone started to ring. Mia took one look at the caller and her expression turned to stone.

“Can you fill my car up while you’re at it?” she said to the attendant as he went about his work.

“Right away, Ms. Fey!” Phoenix straightened up a little as Mia stepped away to answer her phone. He looked over at the attendant.

 _He knew her by name?_ The attendant looked up and met with Phoenix’s stare. To his disappointment, the attendant grinned as he started to do what Mia had asked of him.

“Are you in high school?” he asked, attempting to strike up a conversation. Phoenix said nothing. What kind of question was that? “Does it surprise a city boy to see how little there is out here? There's so little to do, I'm sure you'll get bored fast. You'll either be hanging out with your friends or doing part-time jobs. Speaking of which, we're actually looking for part-time help right now. Give it some thought, why don't you? We don't mind if you're a student.”

The young attendant reached over the car, holding out his hand to Phoenix. There was no one else around, and he knew what that gesture meant…. it was rude not to do anything, as uncomfortable as he was right now. Phoenix reached over, shaking the attendant’s hand. The moment that Phoenix’s hand clasped his, he felt a strong burst of static travel up his arm. Phoenix pulled away the second that he could, rubbing at his palm.

“Oh, I should get back to work,” he heard the attendant say, as if he hadn’t noticed the shock at all. Something pulsed in Phoenix’s head, and his stomach began to twist into knots. He leaned up against the car, attempting to quell the uneasy feeling that was forming. When he looked up again, Maya had returned. She was staring at him.

“...you okay? Did you get sick?” she asked. “You don’t look too good.” Phoenix wasn’t sure how to answer. Maybe he was just tired from the trip? He pushed off the car, straightening up and was only met with a bout of dizziness. Mia had walked back by now, and was looking at Phoenix with the same amount of concern as her sister.

“What’s wrong?” asked the elder Fey sister. “Are you okay?” Unsure what exactly to do, Phoenix nodded.

“I-It’s nothing…” he replied, gripping the car’s door handle. He didn’t want to worry thiem so soon. “Can we go?” Much to his relief, Mia agreed.

* * *

**September 9, 2009**

**4:29 PM**

**Fey Family Inn**

Phoenix stared at the overwhelmingly large building — or rather estate — that Mia had pulled up to. This was going to be his home or the next year?! This place had to be as big as his entire apartment building! Or even a city block!

“This is…” Phoenix wasn’t really sure what to say, “a really big place.”

“It’s our family’s inn,” Mia explained as she led Phoenix up the gravel path and to the front door. “My mom left it to me and my sister. Because of my job, I can’t run it, so Maya’s technically the owner. But until she’s old enough, my aunt runs the business side while Maya just helps with chores.” Upon stepping inside, Phoenix… found that believable. There really was a lobby set up in the front room, with employees scurrying about. There were a few guests too, including one very unhappy looking woman. “Follow me. I’ll show you where we live.”

Mia then led Phoenix around to the back of the inn and out a door. On the back of the property stood to small homes. She and Maya lead Phoenix up to one. It was different from his apartment back home — small, but still larger compared to it. It looked like an ordinary home that he would see on TV.

Phoenix was shown his room by a silent Maya, who scurried away as soon as she got the chance to. He spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking his things, left alone to get settled in and to collect his thoughts. ...yeah… he felt extremely out of place here. He felt sick. He wanted to go home.

He had just finished putting away the last of his belongings when Mia called him down for dinner. Phoenix, Mia and Maya sat at the dinner table in an awkward silence. There was barely any noise, aside from the news playing in the other room. Mia seemed to pick up on that.

“So…” Mia cleared her throat, causing Phoenix to look up at her. “Aunt Melia’s as busy as always… She’s working overseas now, isn’t she?”

“Yeah,” Phoenix responded flatly, poking around the peas in front of him. “In Japan.” He heard Mia sigh when he returned his attention to his plate.

“I know it’s only for a year, but…” she made a small, frustrated noise. He looked up at her again. She wasn’t mad at him already, was she? “I know it’s rough being a kid. Here, it’s just my family. While you’re here, you’re a part of the family. Don’t hesitate to make yourself at home, alright?”

“A-Alright…”

 _Still doesn’t help with how much I miss Mom…_ As if by some sort of saving grace, Mia’s phone egan to ring. She muttered something under her breath before getting up from the table to answer.

“...It’s Mia… I see. At the usual place? … Alright, I’m on my way.” Phoenix glanced over at Maya, who seemed unfazed by that whole conversation just now. Mia hung, turning to the two of them. “Sorry, duty calls. You guys can eat without me, okay?”

Mia left the room before Phoenix could stop her, or even ask her what that was all about. Quiet fell again, save for the sound of forks scraping against plates. The silence was only making things worse. Desperate to break it, Phoenix cleared his throat, getting Maya’s attention.

“So…” he started as the little girl looked up at him, “what exactly does your sister do?”

“She investigates stuff. She sometimes gets these calls and has to leave for a while.” Maya stabbed a piece of chicken on her plate. “She’s not here a lot anymore.” Investigate?

“Is she a detective?”

Maya shook her head. “Not really. Sis says it’s complicated whenever I ask her.” Complicated? How could investigating things be complicated? Before Phoenix could ask anymore about it, the TV in the living room caught his attention. He could see it from where he sat.

“And now for the local news,” began the TV announcer. “City council secretary Taro Namatame is under fire for an alleged relationship with a female reporter. His wife, ballad sensation Misuzu Hiiragi, revealed to this station that she will likely pursue damages. In response, Eye Television has decided to cancel all of announcer Mayumi Yamano's televised appearances. Until allegations of an affair with Mr. Namatame is resolved, she’ll remain off the air and out of the public eye.” Phoenix blinked as they showed a picture of Yamano.

_Wait… didn’t I see her in the inn…?_

“This is boring,” commented Maya, snapping Phoenix out of his thoughts. She got up and promptly changed the channel. At least, she might have if a commercial didn’t start playing.

“Every day in June is Customer Appreciation Day.” Maya seemed to lit up as the commercial started. “Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products! Every day's great at your Junes~!”

“Everyday’s great at your Junes!” he heard her sing along. Maya switched the channel before making her way back to the table. She stared at Phoenix. “...Are you going to eat?” Phoenix stared down at his plate. He had barely touched anything.

“I’m… not really all that hungry.” His head was still hurting from earlier that day. “Do you think your sister will mind if I turn in early?” Maya only shrugged. Phoenix sighed and picked up his plate, placing it in the sink before leaving the room.

He must’ve been more tired from the day’s trip then he thought. He could barely keep his eyes open as he changed into something more appropriate for the night. And despite falling asleep on the train, Phoenix passed out on the futon set up as soon as his head hit the pillow. 

When he opened his eyes again, everything was covered in a thick fog. There were no walls, no ceiling… the only thing that Phoenix could make out was the slick, marble-esque floor beneath his feet.

“If it's the truth you desire,” echoed out a voice from the fog, “come and find me…” Phoenix found himself moving towards the voice, his mind hazy and not sure what exactly to do. So he only did that.

The fog began to thicken. Son enough, after what felt like running forever, Phoenix finally came to a stop. He wasn’t the only one there. There was a figure amidst the fog. With how thick it was, Phoenix was unable to make out any sort of features Only their shape.

“So… you are the one pursuing me,” the figure let out a breathy laugh. “Try all you like…” Phoenix dashed towards the person, trying to reach out and grab them, but all he got was a fistful of fog. 

“It seems that you can see a little, despite the fog...I see…” said the person. Phoenix tried to talk back, but it felt like there was a hand around his throat keeping him silenced. “Indeed...That is very interesting information...But...You will not catch me so easily...If what you seek is ‘truth,’ then your search will be even harder…”

It felt like the voice was surrounding him. The fg started to grow thicker. Phoenix could no longer see the person with him, or even his own two feet. Everything was just.. fog.

“Everyone sees what they want to…. And the fog only deepens… …Will we meet again…? At a place other than here… Hmhm… I look forward to it…”

Look forward to what?! Before he could do anything else, Phoenix’s eyelids grew heavy. He struggled to keep them open, but to no avail. Darkness overtook the fog completely.

Phoenix's eyes snapped open to the sound of his phone buzzing. Sunlight was streaming in through his window. He was in Kurain. He was in the Feys’ home. There was no fog, no weird voice… it had all been just a dream.

He let out a sigh, reaching over and grabbing his phone out of the pocket of his discarded jeans to turn it off. It was six in the morning. Why was his…?

Right. School. Despite being relocated to a new place entirely, PHoenix still had to go to school. He couldn’t skip the year. He sighed, finally crawling out of bed. That uniform should be somewhere around here...


	2. Trouble Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's only his first official day of school, and things could still be a whole lot better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter contains mention of murder (be warned, that warning's going to come up a lot), unwanted attention and Phoenix having a horrible day.
> 
> We're still easing a bit into the story. Things really won't pick up until around the third/fourth chapter. Sorry about that. This is just me trying to control the length of the chapters I put out. Anyway, a few more characters are introduced, and we learn a bit more about the plot.
> 
> And if anyone's played p4 arena, you can start to spot where divergence from the normal p4 storyline starts to take place.

**September 10, 2009**

**6:36 AM**

**Fey Residence**

Some part of Phoenix was still lingering behind in that dream world as he made his way down the stairs, buttoning with the white shirt that was a part of his school uniform, with the uniform's jacket and his bag in the other hand. Dream world? It was more like a nightmare realm now that he thought about it. Just what was that whole thing about…?

Phoenix shook his head as he finally finished up his task. He couldn’t let that dream linger around. He had school to worry about today. It was not only the first day, but he was the new kid. That thought wasn’t pleasant at all. As he headed out into the living room, he found Maya sitting alone at the table — already dressed and ready with her school bag by her feet.

“Good morning,” said the girl as she slid off of her chair. She picked her bag up off the floor. She also plucked a few pieces of toast off of a small plate that was sitting on the middle of the table.

“Hey…” Phoenix glanced down at her before taking a brief look around, “Maya.”

Maya held out some toast to him. “I made breakfast.”

He took it from her. “Maya, where’s your sister?’ She seems rather unfazed by that little fact, as well as his question.

“Mia has work. She got a call and ran out before I was even up.” Okay...seemed like Mia was quite the busy bee. Maya stared at Phoenix as he shoved the toast in his mouth, juggling his school bag to one arm as he slid on his jacket. “You’re starting school today, right?” Phoenix briefly paused before nodding. “My cousins already left, but my school’s on the way. We can walk together.”

_ Cousins…?  _ Maya passed by Phoenix, making her way to the front door without much thought.  _ Are they my age…?  _ It took Phoenix a second to come to his senses and follow after the young girl.

Despite the fact that the sun was out when Phoenix woke up this morning, when he and Maya left for school, the rain started coming down pretty heavily. Phoenix, after borrowing one from the inn, made a mental note to grab an umbrella of his own at some point. He followed Maya out of the house and out of the inn, towards a river that ran through town. She stopped about half way down when they came to a crossroads, pointing off further down the street.

“You keep going straight from here. My school’s this way,” said Maya, gesturing in the other direction. She waved goodbye before running off. Phoenix let out a sigh as he continued on his own, fiddling with the umbrella’s handle. He was alone. ...what else was new?

He was almost at school when something came whizzing by him. Phoenix let out a yelp as some lunatic on a bike nearly ran him over. Said lunatic then crashed into a nearby pole. Phoenix winced out of sympathy as he passed by. Maybe it was best if he just let him be…

The road led up a hill. On top of that stood two simple, beige colored buildings with a wrought iron gate around them. Students were already flooding inside. Phoenix swallowed down something in his throat as he joined them.

_ Yasogami High School, eh… Mom said it’s a good school. She went here. It looks normal…  _ He sighed. _ Though I don’t get why she told me not to touch any masks that I find in the auditorium. _

* * *

**September 10**

**7:14 AM**

**Yasogami High School**

**Room 2-2**

Not even a minute into homeroom, and Phoenix was already starting to regret all of his life choices that day. It started because his homeroom teacher was snapping at his class in order to get them to quiet down. All while Phoenix awkwardly stood in the front, unsure what to do.

“I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today forward! First things first! Just 'cause it's fall doesn't mean you can continue to swoon over each other like love-struck baboons. Long as I'm around, you students are going to be pure as the driven snow!” he said, already making Phoenix stifle a groan. Yeah, today was not going to go smoothly at all. “Now I hate wasting my time, but I'd better introduce this transfer student. This sad sack's been thrown from the big city out to the middle of nowhere like yesterday's garbage. And he's just as much of a loser here as he was there, so you girls better not get any ideas about hitting on him! Tell 'em your name, kid, and make it quick.”

“Uh… It’s uh…” Why did he have to go and phrase it like that? Phoenix swallowed something down, staring at the floor. “Ph-Phoenix! Phoenix Wright!”

His teacher was staring at him with a hate-filled look in his eye. “That's it, you're on my shit list, effective immediately. Now listen up! This town is miles away from your big city of perverts and assholes, in more ways than one. You better not even think of getting involved with the girls here, let alone abusing them! But what do I know… it's not like the old days. Even here, kids grow up so damn fast. Every time I turn my back, you're fooling around on those damn phones, checking your life-journals and you're my-places…”

Mr. Morooka went on and on… And with each word, Phoenix felt all that confidence he spent so long building up that morning diminish. Did he really have to deal with this for a full year?! Before all of his confidence could be killed off, one of the students — a boy with grayish-brown hair — raised his hand.

“Excuse me? Sir?” he said, successfully cutting off Morooka’s rant. “There’s an open seat over here for him.”

“Yeah, sure. Hear that? Your seat is over there. So hurry up and siddown already!” Phoenix only managed a nod as he made his way over to the only empty seat in the class — unfortunately being smack dab in the center. He glanced over at the boy who had come to his rescue. He was sitting right next to him.

Phoenix mustered up a thankful smile that he threw in his direction. “Thanks.” The boy simply remained silent, giving Phoenix a cursory glance and nothing more. Phoenix’s smile fell as he sighed, finally dropping down into his seat.

The moment he sat down, he could hear people around him starting to talk.

“Sucks to be the transfer student, ending up in King Moron's class on the first morning here…”

“Yeah, he won't think twice about suspending you if you get on his bad side. Then again, we're all in the same boat…”

“Shut your traps!” Phoenix jumped to attention when Morooka raised his voice. “I'm taking roll, and I damn well expect you to respond in an orderly manner!”

Phoenix sighed yet again, leaning against his desk and began to tune out the world around him. His new life at this new school in this new town had finally begun. The only question he had known was if he would be able to fit in here at all… Part of him sincerely doubted it.

The rest of the day seemed to drone on, with everything starting to blur together in Phoenix’s mind. He just went with the flow, doing his best to navigate through the halls until he returned to his homeroom at the end of the day following some announcement. Apparently, the students were not to leave until given further notice… which was weird, because the announcement had also called out the teachers, and there was no one really to stop them from leaving if they wanted to.

And after the kids heard sirens sounding outside of the building, Phoenix was pretty sure that everyone really wanted to leave. Or just wanted to see what was going on, as most of them rushed over to the windows to get a good look. The rest around him were gossiping to past the time.

“Hey, did you hear?” said one of them. “I hear the paparazzi looking all over for that announcer.”

“Oh yeah. You mean Mayumi Yamano, right?” Phoenix raised a brow. Yamano? Wasn’t she mentioned on the news last night? “I heard some guys spotted her at the shopping district.”

“Actually, I heard that…”

“Are you serious!?” One of the students whirled around to face a dark-haired girl that sat diagonally in front of Phoenix. “H-Hey, Iris. Mind if I ask you something…? Is it true that announcer's staying at your family's inn?” He blinked as she picked her head up.

“I…” the girl swallowed something down. “I’m not allowed to talk about things like that.” One part of that in particular stood out to Phoenix the most.

_ Inn? Is she one of Maya’s cousins…?  _ Before he could think anymore about the subject, the intercom buzzed to life with a loud enough crackle to silence the entire room.

“ _ Attention, all students _ ,” said the woman on the other end. “ _ There has been an incident inside the school district. Police officers have been dispatched around the School Zone _ .” Phoenix sat up a little straighter. “ _ Please stay calm and contact your parents or guardians as soon as possible, and quickly leave the school grounds. Do not disturb the police officers. Head directly home. I repeat… _ ”

All around him, the kids were chattering away about what could’ve possibly happened. Phoenix sighed. His first day, and something like this happened. But still… he sincerely hoped that everything was alright.

The girl that had been sitting in front of Phoenix came up to him before he could leave. She was small, with large, dark brown eyes. She wore a magenta sweater over her uniform. Her long, dark hair was tied over her shoulder, with her bangs pulled to the sides and braided. 

“Hey. Are you heading home now?” she asked. “Why don’t you walk home with me?”

“Uh… yeah, sure…” Phoenix stammered out. He wasn’t exactly going to deny a helping hand getting home in a city he didn’t know well, but… “Sorry for asking… but uh…. who are you?”

There was a beat before the girl’s face flushed red. “Y-You’re right. I shouldn’t have asked! You don’t even know me. I’m um…” She looked up as the blush started to fade from her face. “I’m Iris. Mia Fey is my cousin, I live at the inn. It’s nice to meet you… I'm sorry that this is so sudden…”

“No, it’s fine. Really.”

“We can pick up Maya on our way, too.” Phoenix assured her that, once again, things were fine. He was still unsure if Maya even liked him, but it seemed like a good idea. Phoenix and Iris were just about at the door when someone else came rushing up to them. He was about Phoenix’s height, with brown hair that made it look like he had just rolled out of bed with how much it was sticking up.

Phoenix also recognized him as the lunatic that had nearly run him over his morning.

“Um… Iris…?” he said, looking rather bleak. “I wanted to… uh… here. Thanks for letting me borrow it!” He thrusted a notebook in her arms before rushing off. Phoenix watched him go. Well… that just happened.

“It’s not a problem… aw.” Iris stared down at her notebook as she and Phoenix finally left the classroom. It was damp, and parts of the words written inside were smudged. “The pages are ruined.”

“He fell off his bike this morning,” Phoenix mused aloud. Iris carefully shut her notebook.

“You saw him?”

Phoenix sighed. “Unfortunately. I think the rain must’ve gotten to it. It was an accident, I wouldn’t blame him.” Iris hummed in reply to that. Things were quiet as the pair exited the building, with the rain still coming down as hard as it had been that morning.

And once again, they were accosted by someone before they could leave. This time, however, Phoenix felt shivers run up his spine when he laid eyes upon the fish-eyed boy who seemed to enjoy getting soaked by the rain blocking their path.

“You’re Iris, right?” he said, ignoring who Iris was with entirely. “Y-You want to go hang out somewhere?”

“Um…” Iris took a small step back, tightening her grip on her umbrella, “wh-who are you?” 

Phoenix could hear classmates staring to talk as they passed them by. Most of them were surprised that he was going after Iris, going as far as to call it the ‘Fey Challenge’. A small bit of irritation struck him as they weren't doing anything to help.

“Um, s-so…” continue the strange student, “are you coming or not?”

“I um…!” Phoenix made the move to step in when a voice from behind cut him off.

“Hey, back off.” Someone pushed Phoenix away, taking his place on Iris’s side. And for a second… Phoenix almost thought that he was seeing double. A girl almost identical to Iris and stepped in. The only difference he could see was her hair was a bright red as opposed to black, and it hadn't been tied back.

The strange student looked between the two girls and the cold stare of the new arrival. “…Fine!” As Phoenix stepped up to join the group again, the fish-eyed student ran off. The tension that he put in Iris seemed to dissipate. 

“What did he want…?” she muttered to herself.

“What did he want?” repeated the redheaded girl. “It’s obvious. He was trying to ask you on a date.”

Iris blinked. “Really?”

“You had no clue?” The redheaded heaved a sigh. “Jeez, Iris, How dense are you? Besides, you’re coming with me, right?” Iris opened her mouth, only to shut it again. She cast a glance over at Phoenix, which the red headed followed. There was a disinterested look in her eyes. “Who’s this?”

Iris dropped the volume of her voice, whispering at a tone she thought Phoenix couldn’t hear. “You remember how Mother said someone was going to stay with Maya and Mia? Well, I thought…” She cast her gaze to the ground. “I could pick up Maya and show him the way home…”

“We were supposed to go to hang out together. You always come with me when I go to Junes.” The redhead crossed her arms over her chest. “So? Are you coming with me or not?”

“I…” Iris was trying to make herself look smaller. “I um…”

The redhead let out a huff. “Fine.” And on that last note, the redheaded girl stode off, her mannerisms and confident stride vastly different than her shy doppelganger.

“Do you know her?” Phoenix asked as the stranger made her way down the road. 

“That would be my sister, Dahlia. She’s normally not like that. She’s just been… acting strange since she returned home from visiting our father over the summer.” Iris let out a sigh. “I’ll have to do something to make up for this later… Hopefully she isn’t too mad. I um… sorry for dragging you into this. We should get going.”

Phoenix nodded, and the two set off down the road themselves. And good thing too. People were starting to stare...

* * *

**September 10**

**2:28 PM**

**Samegawa River Floodplain**

Much to Phoenix’s surprise, Maya Fey was rather cheerful when he and Iris met her at the gate of the nearby elementary school. And she remained rather upbeat on the walk back to the inn. Part of Phoenix suspected that it was due to having someone she knew there by her side. Wait… then why hadn’t she been at ease with Mia there?

Phoenix didn't get the chance to ask as the topic changed to him. Iris had asked what he had been doing in Kurain in the first place. And so, he told both her and Maya.

“Your mom had to work so you came here?” Maya said once his story was done.

“Yeah. That’s the gist of it. She’s a big time reporter who got this assignment in Japan.” Phoenix said with a nod. How Maya didn’t know this already, he wasn’t sure. He was living with her… Phoenix remembered what his mom told him before he left. He had to remain positive about the whole thing. “I think she’ll be fine. It’s kinda nice, actually. A change of pace.”

“But there’s nothing here. There’s something from the mountain… I think clothes or pots or something. There’s the inn, too. Aunt Morgan says it’s the pride of Kurain.”

Iris let out a sigh. “It’s just an old inn.”

“It’s been in a lot of magazines, so a lot of people come here to see it.” Maya seemed to perk up at the mention of her family’s inn. “And Mia says I’m gonna take it over one day.” 

The conversation stopped when the sound of a woman shouting came from not too far away. Why did that sound familiar…?

“That sounds like Sis.” And there it was. It wasn’t like the three of them could avoid it, either. The direction of the voice was the same direction they were currently walking in. And things were made worse as they drew closer. Police tape cut off nearby areas from the rest of the outside world. Police officers and detectives alike were hard at work on something Phoenix couldn't quite see. Two housewives were gossiping about this as they looked on with the rest of the small crowd that was forming.

“So that high schooler left early, and as she came down this street…”

“Wow. Who could imagine  _ that _ hanging from an antenna?” Phoenix raised a brow. That?

“I wanted to see it too.”

“Uh, you got here too late… The police and fire department took it down just a moment ago.”

“Well, I think it's terrifying. I can't believe a dead body showed up around here…”

Maya let out a sharp gasp, drawing closer to Iris. “A dead body!?” Iris put her hand on her cousin’s shoulder in an effort to put her at ease. 

Phoenix led the girls through the crowd, doing their best to get through. They probably would have too if it weren’t for… well, for what Phoenix Felt like was something truly unexpected. Mia stood on the other side of the police tape, eyes narrowed and in the middle of an argument with an older man.

“I have the authority to investigate!” Mia said, obviously trying not to grit her teeth together. “Let me through!”

“By who?” said the man — whom Phoenix assumed was the officer in charge of the scene. With a huff, Mia dug into her pocket. She withdrew something rather quickly, and flashed it to him. It was a police badge. 

“L.A.P.D., Security Department. Shadow Response Unit. This crime scene falls under our jurisdiction. So, sir, I demand to be let through!” Mia shoved the badge back into the confines of her jacket. The man’s face turns red with anger as Mia smarked.“Unless you want to have to deal with the Skye Cooperation yourself.” 

A young detective came to Mia’s rescue just before the man could blow up at her. “It’s alright! She’s with us.” With a huff, the older officer turned back to his work. Mia chuckled, victorious. That went away as Maya broke away from iris.

“Sis!” she called out.

Mia turned on her heel, eyes going wide as she spotted Maya and the two teenagers trailing immediately after her. “Maya? What are you three doing here?”

“We were just passing by,” Phoenix explained quickly, not wanting to be mistaken for one of those weirdos who just wanted to see a dead body. “And we heard you yelling.”

“Yeah… sorry about that.” Mia huffed, carding her fingers through her hair. “The vets think that they can push me around because I’m not as seasoned as them. Or because I’m a woman. One or the other. Wait, you were passing by?” When Phoenix nodded, she groaned. “That damn principal. I thought they told him not to let them through here… But you three really ought to stop wandering around and head straight home.”

Phoenix guessed that things really must've been a huge mess. One of the detectives on the scene rushed between the two groups, his face green. He ran over to a bundle of bushes where Phoenix promptly heard him vomit. 

“Gumshoe!”

“S-Sorry sir,” stuttered out the uneasy-looking detective before he got sick once more. With a sigh, Mia went over to help him.

A dead body, huh…? Well… this day just kept getting worse and worse….

* * *

**September 10**

**5:06 PM**

**Fey Residence**

Phoenix, Maya and Iris headed straight home after their encounter with Mia. The house felt too cold for Phoenix’s liking when he and Maya entered, and despite them being there, it felt empty. It was nearing too close to dinner and Mia still had yet to return home.

Maya sat on the couch as Phoenix took to getting dinner started. Someone had to do something about it, right? He hoped that Mia wouldn't mind him digging through the kitchen’s cabinets.

“I wonder if Mia’s coming home tonight…” said Maya out loud to no one in particular. Casting a glance at the clock on the wall, Phoenix found himself wondering the same thing, too. He got his answer as the evening news began.

“ _ Our top story this evening concerns a bizarre case in a quiet suburb _ ,” said the news’ announcer, “ _ Around noon today, a woman was found dead near the Samegawa River in Kurain _ .” Phoenix glanced over his shoulder. The school district was briefly shown on TV before switching over to a picture of the woman in question. Phoenix almost dropped the bowl he had just picked up.. “ _ The deceased has been identified as Ms. Mayumi Yamano, a 27-year old announcer at the local television station. The initial results of the Kurain Police Department's investigation have revealed… _ ”

“That’s what Sis was trying to work on…” Maya then muttered aloud, probably on accident. It was somewhat unnerving that she seemed so… casual about her sister not being here. Mia rushed off to leave in the middle of something, not being there when she woke up or not being there in time for dinner. Because as normal as this might’ve felt to her, it didn’t mean that the whole situation frightened Maya any less. She was still just a kid.

Phoenix turned around, leaning against the countertop that separated the two rooms from each other.

“Hey,” Maya jumped at the sound of Phoenix’s voice, as if she had forgotten he was there entirely. “It’s gonna be alright.”

“I know.” Maya stuffed her hands into her lap, flopping back against the couch. “This stuff happens.”

The news continued on. “ _ The body was found hanging from a large television antenna atop a local resident's roof. Authorities are uncertain as to why the body was in such a state. With the cause of death also uncertain, police continue to investigate whether the death is an accident or a homicide. A thick fog common to the area has slowed their progress, and plans to fully canvas the area are delayed until tomorrow. _ ”

Mayumi Yamano… Phoenix recalled her name from last night’s news as he turned back to his dinner prep. Didn’t she have an affair with a secretary or something? Just what happened for her to show up dead like that? And strung up on an antenna? It felt a bit too much like a serial killer’s story or his liking.

Thankfully, the commercials started. Maya perked up immediately upon hearing the familiar Junes jingle. And Phoenix had to admit it himself, it was pretty catchy and upbeat. He found himself singing along with the tune as he made his way around the kitchn.

“You know it already?” asked Maya, causing Phoenix to snap out of the trance he had been starting to fall into. All he could think too was to offer up a smile in order to try to hide his embarrassment. He had meant for maya to hear him— “I’m the best in my class!”

Much to Phoenix’s surprise, Maya’s face lit up with a smile of her own as she began to sing the jingle again, sticking a little bit closer to the kitchen the rest of the evening. At least her mind was off that story from the news…

Who did something like that? Hanging bodies from an antenna? How did that even work? How would someone get a body all the way up there in the first place? It was none of Phoenix’s business, but still…

There was something about all of this that was very hard to ignore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: 
> 
> Chapter 3: The Midnight Channel
> 
> "He's never going to believe this..."


	3. The Midnight Channel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phoenix gets welcomed to town by a classmate. The two decide to investigate a rumor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter contains mentions of murder and strange happenings at midnight. I think you know what's about to happen. Oh, and kids running into poles... and head banging.
> 
> There's not much to stay here. This was supposed to be part of the last chapter, but I found it longer than made me comfortable, so I split 'em. Some more exposition happens here and that's about it.

**September 11, 2009**

**6:59 AM**

**Kurain School District**

Phoenix had a bit of a spring in his step as he walked to school that morning. Sure, someone had been found dead yesterday, but there was one bright side to this whole situation. He had gotten through his first day of school intact. No more awkward small talk or introductions. He could easily blend into the shadows if he wanted to.

Or maybe that bit of relief had something to do with the fact that the phone had rung with a very familiar ringtone. He smiled when he saw the name on the caller ID. He answered it as soon as he could.

“Hey, Mom,” Phoenix said as he pressed the phone to his ear. “How’s Japan?

He heard her yawn on the other end of the line. “ _ It’s going pretty well… _ ”

“Crap, I’m not keeping you awake, am I?” He had been dying to hear a familiar and comforting voice since yesterday, but his mom still needed all of her energy for her assignment.

“ _ No, I was already awake. Had trouble sleeping. _ ” Despite that, he heard her yawn again. “ _ So, are you enjoying Kurain, Nicky? _ ”

“Yeah… it’s been a day, but things here are really different. Everything’s so…” —his thoughts drifted to yesterday— “quiet.”

_ Better not tell her about the murder… make her worry more.  _ And with that, mother and son began to talk, swapping stories of how their first days in new locations went for each of them. They laughed at the mistake Phoenix’s mother had made when introducing herself to her partner for the year. Phoenix could hear the disdain in his mother’s voice when he told her about his homeroom teacher, but perked up when he told her about the new people he met. Unfortunately, that tone went right back down again when she learned he had yet to open up to others. There was very little possibility of him making a friend in Kurain. The boy next to him wouldn’t talk to him, Iris and Dahlia were already gone that morning and Maya barely spoke a word.

Phoenix was okay with it. He was used to being alone. He was about to tell her this when — once again — some lunatic on a bicycle nearly ran him over. Phoenix let out a yelp, jumping out of the way just in time. It was the same guy from yesterday who had almost hit him — the one who had damaged Iris’s notebook.

Phoenix winced as he crashed, winding up head-first in a trashcan. He and it clattered to the ground. It was a bit of a pathetic sight, honestly… and kind of sad...

“Hey, Mom?” said Phoenix, slowing down until he stopped. “I’m at school, so I’ll call you back later.” It wasn’t a total lie. He could see Yasogami in the distance.

“ _ Okay. And Phoenix? _ ” He hummed in reply. “ _ Things will be better. I promise. _ ”

“Thanks.” Phoenix hung up there. Quickly, he stashed his phone back into his bag as he made his way over to the rolling student stuck in the trash can. The guy let out a yelp when he felt Phoenix’s arm wrapped around his waist, and really only stopped struggling once he felt the can stopped moving. With a little help on his part, Phoenix was able to get the bedhead kid out of the trash.

“Whew, you saved me. Thanks!” said the formerly rolling student, popping up off the ground as soon as he could. Phoenix picked up the can, as well as whatever had fallen out of it. He could feel the guy staring at him. “Umm…? You’re the new kid, right?”.

“Wright.” The guy stared at him. “Phoenix Wright, I mean.” Phoenix let out a sigh. His mom said that joke always worked in breaking the ice. The guy walked over to where his bike had fallen, picking it up and back on two wheels. “Yeah, that’s me.”

Still, the boy held out his hand to Phoenix despite his terrible joke. “Never introduced myself. I’m Larry Butz. Nice to meet ya.” Larry flashed him a grin as Phoenix shook his hand.

“Nice to meet you.” Despite taking such a beating just now, Larry seemed perfectly fine. He had to at least have hit his head. “Uh… are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Wouldn’t be the first time…” Well… he did seem to be alright… The pair started walking up the hill towards Yasogami together. Honestly… not walking by himself felt a bit nice. Larry even struck up a conversation. 

“Hey, did you hear about the incident yesterday?” Larry asked, getting a nod from Phoenix as a reply. “I can’t believe they found that lady hanging from the antenna! There's no way something that weird could've been an accident.”

“You might be right,” Phoenix said. Larry had a decent point. How could someone even accidentally wind up like that?

“Dangling a dead body on a roof… that’s pretty messed up. Then again, killing someone is messed up in the first place.” Phoenix only nodded again. He hoped they would catch the killer soon… He was drawn out of his thoughts on murder by the sound of the school bell ringing. He went stiff as a board. 

“Shit!” he exclaimed, not really thinking twice about the curse until it was already out of his mouth. “We’re late!” And on the second day, too! This couldn't get any worse. 

Exchanging a panicked look with each other, the two boys rushed up towards the school as fast as their legs could carry them. Phoenix only felt relief when they made it to their homeroom and Morooka was nowhere yet in sight.

* * *

**September 11**

**2:15 PM**

**Yasogami High School**

**Room 2-2**

Aside from being late that morning, the rest of the day seemed extremely uneventful. There was nothing interesting in class, either. Since it was the beginning of the year, all that the teachers went over were reviews of material covered in the previous semester. Honestly, Phoenix wasn’t complaining. It let him at least now that he had to prepare himself for.

As the last bell of the day rang, Phoenix quickly began packing up his things. It was probably best to go back to the Feys' and— He jumped when someone planted their butt on his desk. Phoenix glanced up to meet with Larry’s gaze.

“So,” said the boy from that morning as Phoenix stood, “you getting used to this place?”

“Yeah,” Phoenix replied. Was Larry really talking to him? He was being so… kind, too. And looked a bit surprised at Phoenix’s answer.

“That was fast.”

“My mom grew up here. I used to come and visit some of her friends when I was little. Though, I’m a bit rusty…” Last time he came here was when his dad was still around. Phoenix shrugged as he threw his bag over his shoulder. “It’s going to take some time for things to come back. But it doesn’t look like much has changed, unlike in L.A.” Larry’s eyes then lit up like the Fourth of July. He jumped off the desk, getting incredibly close to Phoenix.

“You’re from L.A.?” he asked. Phoenix slowly nodded, pushing Larry back a little.

“Yeah. It’s different than there, but I like it.” It was less crowded at least. That was a positive, right?

“I get that. Even though there’s not much to do here, the air is clean and the food’s good. The local delicacy is steak. Like that’s anything special. I know a place where we can get it pretty cheap. I can treat you after what you did for me this morning!” Phoenix blinked. Treat him? He actually wanted to hang out with him? or was it just the polite thing to do? “Hey, Fey!” Larry turned to Iris, caching her before she could leave the classroom.. “You wanna come to Junes with us?! My treat!”

“I um…” Iris stammered, tightening her grip on her bag’s strap and staring at the ground. “I really shouldn’t… I have to help out at the inn today and…”

Larry’s face fell, despite the grin he was still wearing. “Maybe next time then?”

“I don’t know… maybe.” Iris rushed out of the room without another word. Larry let out a sigh. He seemed pretty upset about Iris not coming along. But still…

He wanted to hang out with Phoenix?

* * *

**September 11**

**2:42 PM**

**Junes Department Store**

**Rooftop Food Court**

Phoenix blinked, staring at the area that Larry had brought him to.

“This place has steak?” he asked, following his classmate towards a table. Even if Larry was holding the food itself in hand, he could still hardly believe it. This place was a food court. Those kinds of places usually served only fast food dripping with grease or whatever.

“I get an employee discount. See, my dad’s the manager of this place,” Larry explained as he motioned for Phoenix to sit down. The latter did, with a hint of hesitance. “Like you, I moved here from the city ‘bout six months ago. This place just opened up, and Dad got assigned to it. Here, this is to welcome you to town.”

Phoenix thanked him, taking a bite off the steak in front of him. For something from the food court… it tasted pretty good. He glanced over the railing nearby. From the top of the store, anyone could see the entirety of Kurain from up here. He and Larry sat there, almost quiet as they ate. And Phoenix just kept looking out at the town.

“Kurain seems a lot different than I remember it,” said Phoenix, his tray now nearly empty. “Though, I haven’t been here since I was like… nine. I swear there used to be more stores in the shopping district…”

Larry heaved a sigh, leaning against the table and poking and what remained of his own food. “People blame Junes. A lot of places have closed since we opened. But you can’t blame Junes for that, can you?”

“Well…” With a big department store like this, it only made sense that it would drive people out of business… Phoenix was just about to tell Larry that when the boy in front of him perked up.

“Hey… be right back.” Larry bounded up from the table. “Cindy!” Phoenix swiveled around in his seat, his eyes following Larry as he jogged up to a redheaded girl with short hair. She was wearing a Junes uniform.

_ Is that Larry’s girlfriend…? _

“Hey, how’s it going?” Larry said to her, and Phoenix didn’t need to see his face to know how happy the girl’s appearance made him. “You look beat.”

“I’m finally on break. How’s it going?” The girl — Cindy apparently — looked past Larry at the direction he had just come from. She caught sight of Phoenix. “Boosting the business by bringing your friend here?”

Larry feigned a gasp. “Madame, you wound me.” Both he and Cindy laughed. “Joking aside, you look down. Did something happen?”

“It’s nothing. Just a little tired.”

“If you need to talk, I’m willing to listen.”

The girl chuckled. “I'm okay. Thanks, though.” Her eyes drifted back to where Phoenix was. Had she caught him staring? “Hey… is he the kid who transferred here?” Oh crap they were walking over— 

“Are you the transfer student?” the girl asked Phoenix as he failed to hide the fact that he had been eavesdropping. “I suppose you overheard that, huh?”

“Yes and yes,” Phoenix replied, glancing down at the ground with embarrassment. “Sorry.

“Don’t worry. It must be nice to have someone else from the city to talk to, hm? I don’t see Larry hanging out with other guys that much.” Larry winced beside her. “He doesn’t have many friends, so I hope you two get along. He’s a good guy, but he can get noisy sometimes. You gotta tell him to his face when he starts to get on your nerves.”

_ Ouch… _ Seemed like Larry got kicked around often, didn’t he?

Much to Cindy's surprise, Phoenix shook his head. “Nah, he’s a pretty good guy.” After all, not many people would invite out the new kid like this.

“I know. I’m just kidding,” said Cindy with a small laugh. Part of Phoenix didn’t think that she was kidding. “Well, my break's over. Back to work I go. Laters!”

“Hey, Cindy…!” Larry called out to her, but she was already walking away. He let out a weak laugh before sighing, plopping back down on the bench next to Phoenix. “Cindy says that I’m annoying, but she’s worse than me. She treats me like I’m her little brother… even though I’m older…”

“So, you like her…?” Phoenix asked once Cindy was out of sight. Larry wasn’t doing much to hide that fact. He ran up to talk to her as soon as he could, like a puppy whose owner just came home.

Larry whipped around to face him, turning a bit red. “What?!”

“What is it? Some sort of forbidden romance? Her family doesn’t want their daughter to fraternize with the Junes heir?”

“I mean yeah, her family’s liquor store doesn’t really like Junes but… hey!” Phoenix snickered. 

“Sorry, man.” Didn’t guys usually tease each other about stuff like this, or was that only in movies…?

Larry groaned, burying his face in his arm on the table. “Now I’m all depressed. And it’s your fault…” Phoenix leaned forward on the table himself, staring at his classmate.

“Something else on your mind?” There had to be with the way Larry looked up at him. Or at least another topic they could switch to.

“No, I just got to thinking.” Larry sat up. “Ever heard of the Midnight Channel?”

“Midnight Channel?” Phoenix repeated, a brow raised. Larry nodded as a devious look formed on his face.

“If you look into a TV that’s switched off, alone and exactly midnight while it’s raining… a person will appear on the screen,” he explained. “And that person is your soulmate.”

“You don’t believe it, do you?” It seemed a little out there. And Phoenix had grown up being told all sorts of supernatural stories from his mother and her travels. All of them sounded impossible. It was just common sense.

Larry shook his head. “Nah, not really. But you can’t help but get curious. ...Hey, it’s supposed to rain tonight. You want to… try it out?” Phoenix blinked.

“You haven’t tried it yourself?”

“Not yet. Crazy, isn’t it?” Phoenix sighed before nodding. It did sound pretty crazy… but then again, a lot of crazy things seemed to be happening around here. And this place was supposed to be quiet. But still… all the stories that Phoenix had been told about came from his mother’s investigations. An idea came to mind.

“This morning, you were talking about that… incident yesterday.” At this point, Phoenix wasn’t sure what else to call it. “You think it was a murder?”

“Dunno, stuff like that doesn’t happen around here,” Larry said with a shrug. “Why? You worried the culprit is still lurking around?” He snickered, and Phoenix elbowed his arm off the table.

“Don’t joke about stuff like that.” He sighed. “Look, the investigation is still ongoing. And if the cops find a lead, they look into it. What if we do the same thing tonight with the Midnight Channel? See if it’s real or not?” Larry hummed for a second, contemplating Phoenix’s suggestion. He then grinned.

“Okay. Why not give it a shot?” He held out his hand. “You got yourself a deal, man!” Phoenix shook it.

_ The Midnight Channel, huh…?  _ It was just a rumor. What harm could it do in just checking it out?

* * *

**September 11**

**5:36 PM**

**Fey Residence**

When Phoenix arrived home, the only person there was Maya. And it seemed like, once again, dinner would be between just the two of them. The door swung open about halfway through the meal, and Mia Fey dragged herself in. Looked like he would get to see her today after all.

“Stupid, no good…” Mia muttered under her breath as she approached the table. She messed with her sister’s hair as she passed her by. “Hey, Maya.”

“You’re late again,” simply replied Maya.

“Sorry.” Mia immediately went for the leftovers that were sitting on the countertop, helping herself. “This whole thing has been keeping me busy.” Phoenix felt kind of bad for Mia. Having work take over her life like that… But It was also important that the killer got caught. And that meant working as hard as she could… and investigating everything… Something came to Phoenix’s mind.

“Hey, Mia. Can I ask you a question?” Phoenix asked, getting a hum from the woman as she joined them at the table. “Have you heard about the Midnight Channel?”

Mia blinked, a brow raised. “The Midnight Channel?”

“You know what? Nevermind. It’s nothing.” Phoenix slid down in his seat a little. Mia must’ve not heard about the rumor if she looked that confused about his question. Mia let out a sigh.

“Maya, can you turn on the news?” Maya nodded. Phoenix cast a glance over at the screen as the nightly report flickered on.

“ _ Next, more details in the developing story on the incident in foggy Kurain. Announcer Mayumi Yamano's dead body was found hanging above a house in this isolated rural town, _ ” said the TV’s announcer. “ _ It is confirmed that Ms. Yamano had been involved in an affair with Taro Namatame, husband of enka singer Misuzu Hiiragi. _ ”

Phoenix returned his attention the remainder of the meal in front of him. It was just a follow-up on the incident yesterday. He almost forgot about the victim having an affair entirely… Could the whole thing be tied to a lover’s quarrel? Phoenix shook his head. No… probably not. How would that guy even put her body up on the antenna…?

“ _The police plan to investigate this relationship and question any personnel involved with them._ _In addition, we now bring you an exclusive interview with the local student who found Ms. Yamano's body._ ” Phoenix looked up at Mia, who had groaned when she heard that, muttering something along the lines of ‘how the hell did they find her’.

The broadcast switched to show a segment that has been recorded earlier down by the floodplain. The reporter wasn't shown on camera, and the face of the local student was blurred.

“ _ What went through your mind when you saw it? _ ” the reporter asked. “ _ Could you tell she was dead? Did you see her face? _ ”

The student stammered, as if startled by the questions. Even though they took the necessary precautions to censor her face and disguise her voice, Phoenix could have sworn that he had seen the student somewhere before. Especially with that short red hair...

“ _ Don't you think it's scary that someone was killed on a foggy day? _ ” continued the reporter. The student gasped.

_ “She was killed? _ ”

“ _ Oh, errr… So did you see anyone suspicious around here? _ ”

“ _ No, not really… _ ” That was fair enough. There's really only one suspicious person that Phoenix could remember seeing, and that as the dude who hit Iris yesterday.

“ _ We heard that you found it when you left school early. Did you have some personal business to take care of? _ ”

“ _ Huh? That's… _ ” Looked like the reporter’s enthusiasm about the incident was confusing her. And Phoenix could agree. Who the hell got excited about a murder…? Wait… Looking at her a little more closely… the girl reminded Phoenix of Larry’s coworker. What was her name again? Cindy? The report returned to the studio.

“ _ —a tragedy that occurred near the local shopping district,” _ said the announcer towards his audience. “ _ Many storeowners are raising concerns about losing customers as a result… _ ” Well, there was no surprise there.

“ _ It really is a bizarre case, isn't it? _ ” added their co-commentator. “ _ I mean, hanging someone upside down from an antenna… I'd have to say it's a warning or a sign from the culprit. _ ” Phoenix held back a groan. it was only one death, and then here they were making it sound like a serial killing.

“ _ Yes, but so far no one has come forward to take credit for the crime _ .” Phoenix heard Mia sigh beside him.

“Loads of prank calls, though…” she muttered through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

“ _ So the cause of death is still unknown? _ ” asked the commentator. “ _ And they don't have a single suspect yet? Taxpayers' funds are going to a police force who can't even figure out if this is an accident or a homicide? _ ” Phoenix raised a brow as the report slipped away into a commercial. How could it be an accident? Actually how could it be  _ anything _ ? Things like people getting hung up on TV antennas didn’t happen.

...did it?

* * *

**September 11**

**11:59 PM**

**Fey Residence**

**Phoenix’s Room**

Phoenix was pretty sure the whole Midnight Channel thing was still a hoax, but he did promise Larry that he would at least check it out. Besides, investigating the rumor was his idea in the first place. He would look like a hypocrite if he didn’t follow through with it.

As midnight drew nearer and nearer, Phoenix could hear the rain falling outside. If you looked into a TV on a rainy night, you would see your soulmate. ...could a story like that even be true? As the clock struck twelve, Phoenix stared into the small TV that had been set up in his room.

His eyes went wide as the screen flickered to life. The picture was cutting in and out, trying its hardest to focus on the image it was showing him. Eventually, it settled in on a girl. The image was still blurred, but still… Phoenix was seeing something. Short red hair… what looked like Yasogami’s uniform...

It felt impossible. There was no way that—!

Pain pulsed in his head. His stomach began to churn as it grew, pounding against his temples like an unrelenting drum.

" _ I am thou. Thou art I, _ ” echoed a voice that sounded too much like his own, drowning out any other thought that Phoenix had. He stumbled, dropping to his knees as the pain grew worse. It hurt… It hurt, it hurt, it hurt… Someone make it stop… Anyone…  _ Someone make it stop!! _ “ _ Thou art the one who opens the door. _ " 

Phoenix laid on the floor, hands clenched around his head as the voice faded away, the pain slowly going with it. He remained there for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was only a minute. As soon as the ache in his skull was gone, Phoenix carefully pushed himself back up. The TV had gone dark again.

What the absolute hell was that?! He slowly got up, not taking his eyes off the TV screen for even a second. That couldn’t have been real, could it? There was no way that actually happened… Things like that… Phoenix reached out to touch the TV. There was no way…

He froze as soon as his fingers touched the screen. From his fingertip, the screen rippled like water. Phoenix reeled back. Okay… No, that didn’t… He was just seeing things, he was tired, he didn’t…

Phoenix put his hand to the TV again, slowly letting his fingers dip inside. What was…? The moment his wrist slipped past the screen, it felt like something was jerking him, pulling him further instead. Phoenix let out a yelp as his entire arm and even his head was sucked into the TV.

He reached out, grabbing blindly for his dresser and pushed back. The TV released him with a pop. Phoenix stumbled back, landing with a hard thud and smacking his head against the table in the middle of the floor as he fell. He let out a groan, trying to soothe the bump forming on the back of his head. Okay… no that felt real… 

“Phoenix? Phoenix?!” He could hear footsteps come to a stop outside his door. Mia swung it open without much thought to consent. Phoenix really hoped that he didn’t wake her up. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah…” Phoenix laughed nervously as he sat up. “Yeah, a’okay!”

“You sure…?”

“Yeah, just…” Phoenix felt his mouth go dry as he glanced at the TV. “Just something on TV surprised me, that’s all.

Mia gave him a look. “Okay…?” She muttered something to herself as she shut the door. Phoenix did not move until he heard her own bedroom door shut. He stared at the TV again.

_ Larry’s never going to believe this... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time:
> 
> Chapter 4: Backside of the TV
> 
> Just what is this place?!


	4. Backside of the TV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After what happened last night, Phoenix was certain that things couldn't get much stranger. Unfortunately, fate continues to have other plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter contains strange happenings and dark imagery courtesy of the TV world.
> 
> Speaking of which, we finally get to the TV world in this chapter! Some things got changed around due to character roles as well as the change in dates, so this chapter does take place on a Saturday. It's just a heads-up on my part. I hope you all enjoy!

**September 12, 2009**

**12:34 PM**

**Junes Department Store**

**Rooftop Food Court**

Everyone seemed to be talking about Yamano’s murder. The whole subject made it hard for Phoenix to even leave the house that day. Because of the inn being the last place where Yamano was seen alive, things were getting pretty hectic. Phoenix had difficulty getting around all the reporters blocking the way. At least Larry seemed to understand his lateness. He didn't even seem to care about it, too excited to talk about their investigation.

“So, did you see…” Larry looked around as Phoenix too a seat opposite him, “it… last night?”

“Uh…” Phoenix thought back to last night and felt the bump on his head throb, “did you?”

“I saw a girl. I couldn’t tell who it was, but I know it was a girl,” Larry told him. “She had shoulder-length red hair. She was wearing our school’s uniform, too. I couldn’t make out much detail, though. What I saw was too blurry. How ‘bout you?”

“It sounds like that person I saw, but…” Phoenix stared down at his hand. 

“What does that mean?” Larry mused out loud. “We have the same soulmate?” Phoenix sighed. The whole soulmate rumor really wasn’t important right now considering all that had actually happened.

“Larry. Something else happened last night.” The boy across from him hummed in acknowledgment. Phoenix swallowed something down. It still sounded crazy — and it was — but… “When the TV turned on, I heard this weird voice saying something about a door. When it turned off again, I touched it. To make sure that what I saw was real. And… and my hand went right through the screen. It almost sucked me in, but it’s too small so I couldn’t fit.”

Larry just stared at him.

“How tired were you last night? You must’ve fallen asleep,” he said. Phoenix groaned. Yeah, he was tired last night, but after that bump, there was no way that could have been a dream… right? “Interesting dream, though. Maybe if your TV was bigger, then—” Larry paused in his mocking of Phoenix. A smirk then grew on his face. “I have an idea. Come with me.”

Before Phoenix could ask about this little idea, Larry grabbed his hand. With a yelp, he dragged him away from the table. Larry had a surprisingly strong grip, as he managed to keep a hold on Phoenix as he dragged him throughout Junes. He only let go once they got to the electronics section of the store.

“Since flatscreens are getting really popular, we’re beefing up our electronic department,” Larry explained as they walked towards the back of the area. A row of large, flatscreen TVs lined the wall. “We got some pretty big ones in stock! Big enough for you to fit into.”

Phoenix stared at the screen of the TV they had stopped in front of. “Larry, are you sure this is a good idea?”

“It’s like you said. When the cops have a lead, then look into it. Now we have to look into this.” Phoenix groaned at that, really regretting his words yesterday. Larry only shrugged. “Not many people shop for TVs here, so there aren’t many people around.”

“Come on, man, it was probably a dream like you said,” said Phoenix. There was no way that actually happened, right? ...no matter how real that bump felt.. maybe he just fell out of bed or something. Yeah, that had to be it.

“I know. Sounds cool, though, right.” Larry put his hand against the TV’s screen, pushing on the surface a little. It was just as Phoenix though. It was solid. “...Can’t get in. Probably good. These things are so thin, you’d end up on the other side. Sorry for dragging you here, man. Hey, you want to go check out the food court? Might as well give you a reason to stay, right?”

He walked away. Phoenix, meanwhile, just kept staring at the TV’s dark screen. There was something about it… like a siren luring a sailor into the ocean’s depths, it acted as a song for him. Larry had a point. With a TV this big, he really could get inside.

...Last night was just a dream. That was it. It was just a dream. And Phoenix was going to prove that right then and there—!

His hand passed right through the TV screen.

Larry picked that moment to turn back around.

“Hey, Phoenix. Did you hear me—?!” Larry’s eyes went wide. “Y-Your arm!”

“Please tell me that this is some sort of new model,” Phoenix said, borderline begging for this not to be real.

“Hell no!” Larry scrambled over to where Phoenix stood, just as captivated by the sight in front of him. Phoenix wasn’t sure how to feel. Was he supposed to be happy that what happened wasn’t just a dream? Or be scared shitless that it actually did happen?!

Larry stared at Phoenix in astonishment. “Oh man… This is for real… That's some magic trick, man! So how's it work, huh!? What's the magician's secret!?” Phoenix shrugged. He was still trying to process the whole thing. 

Last night, he was able to get his head inside. And with a TV this big… Before he could think much about the consequences of his actions, Phoenix crawled into the TV, bracing himself on it’s frame and the shelf it rested on.

He blinked, staring out at the large, white space that was before him. There wasn’t much besides what looked like a tunnel of square frames leading down who knows where. He didn’t get the chance to actually pay attention to his surroundings last night, but now… It seemed kind of peaceful. 

“Hey!” Larry shouted, snapping Phoenix out of his thoughts. He let out a grunt as he felt the weight of the boy on his back, shaking him. “What’re you doing?!”

“Investigating!” Phoenix replied, trying to nudge Larry back with his foot. “There’s not much here. It’s just an empty space.”

“What do you mean empty space?!”

“It’s a large, empty space!”

“Holy crap…!” Yeah… Phoenix was still trying to process this whole thing for sure. And he was definitely awake this time. “Shit! People are coming!”

Phoenix felt Larry grab him from behind and give a tug. He let out a yelp, one hand bracing him on the TV frame and the other panicking, seizing Larry’s arm.

“What the?!” Larry tugged again. “L-Larry wait!” The hand keeping Phoenix upright slipped.

With that hand to support him, he finally lost his balance. The two boys let out a scream as Phoenix fell, involuntarily dragging Larry down into the TV with him. They tumbled into the tunnel below, free falling without anything to catch them. They couldn’t even grab the frames around them — their hands just went through. White light filled Phoenix’s vision, making him shut his eyes just to keep himself from going blind.

Phoenix wasn’t sure how long they were falling for. But eventually, everything hits the bottom. He collided with something hard, sending a shockwave of pain rocketing up his body. He groaned, lying still for a moment as his mind caught up with his body.

He opened his eyes once it did. The first thing he was met with was a sea of fog. Phoenix slowly pushed himself up. Larry had landed right next to him. He was grumbling something to himself and much to Phoenix’s relief, he was moving.

“So… uh…” Larry groaned as he pushed himself up, looking around, “we’re still alive, right?”

“I think so?” The fall didn’t feel like it killed them… Phoenix stood up, held a hand out to his comrade. “You okay?”

Larry groaned as his took Phoenix’s hand, rubbing his tailbone. “I think my ass is cracked…” With a roll of his eyes, Phoenix pulled him up. “Whoa!”

Now that they were in their right mind, they could finally get a closer look at the area. Phoenix and Larry were standing in the middle of what looked like a TV’s film set, or even some kind of studio backlot. There were cameras and lights hung up on rafters, and it seemed like he had landed on a stage of some kind. A large target was in the middle of the stage. The outlines of bodies were scattered around it.

At least… Phoenix thought it was. Everything around him felt strange and staticky in his mind that it was hard to process.

“Is this a TV studio? Look at all this fog… smoke… whatever,” Phoenix waved a hand to try and clear it, only to fail. He turned to Larry. “They didn’t build a place like this in the past ten years, did they?”

“Hell no.” Larry groaned. “What're we gonna do…?”

“We should go home,” Phoenix said, speaking his first thought out loud without even thinking about it much.

“G-Good plan!” There was a beat. “W-Wait. Which way did we come from?! I don’t see a way out!” What? They came from… Phoenix looked up. The tunnel they had fallen down was nowhere in sight. He went pale. This… This couldn't be right! There had to be a way out!

“I can’t take this!” Larry cried out in a panic. “I thought this was a good idea, but now that it’s actually happening…” He turned, grabbing Phoenix by his shirt and shaking him. “How are we going to get back home!?”

Phoenix grabbed Larry by the wrists to get him to stop.

“Let’s calm down and think about this,” he said, prying Larry’s hands off of him even though he was internally freaking out as well. “We need to start looking for an exit.”

“You think there’s really a way out of here?”

Phoenix only shrugged. “We got in, so there has to be a way out.”

“I guess, but…” Larry slowly spun in a circle, taking in their surroundings, “if there’s no exit we’re trapped.”

“Then let’s keep our fingers crossed and look around.” He really hoped that there was something other than this backlot in the fog.

The boys headed off in a random direction that Larry chose. They wandered around for what felt like hours, taing random twists and turns in the fog whenever they heard a noise. It was getting them more and more lost, but Phoenix really didn’t want to meet whatever was in this strange fog.

After a while, the pair finally found something. It looked like some kind of apartment building, but… There was a noise, almost like a growl from behind them. Phoenix and Larry jumped at hearing it and dashed towards the building, trying to open the first door they found. It wouldn’t open.

So they kept trying, climbing higher and higher in an attempt to find some sort of safe space to regroup.

“What is this place…?” Larry asked, staring out at the fog after their tenth sealed the door. “It feels different from where we were before.” He was right about that. Phoenix scanned the area.

“Fog’s too thick. I can’t tell,” Phoenix replied with a shrug. “Are you sure we didn’t end up wandering closer to that backlot?”

“I can’t be positive, but we’ve gotta trust our instincts.” Phoenix sighed as they came to the final door on the current floor. When he went to try it, much to his surprise, it actually did open. He and Larry exchanged a look with each other. Left with very little choice, Phoenix pushed the door open.

On the other side was an extremely creepy room. The hardwood floor was covered in dust and what Phoenix suspected to be patches of dried blood. The entire room was in disarray, with the wallpaper peeling off the paint-splattered walls.

It was a hotel room from hell.

“Is it just me or is the fog lighter here?” Larry asked. Phoenix shrugged. Now safe from whatever was outside, Larry pulled out his phone. After he dialled a single number, he sighed. “No service.”

Well, that was just great.

“And it keeps getting creepier the deeper we go.” Phoenix mused aloud. He scanned the walls. No, wait… the wallpaper wasn’t peeling off the walls. They were full of posters that looked like they had been clawed at. “Check out these posters… Their faces are all cut out…”

“Phoenix?” Phoenix hummed, turning towards Larry. He saw what he was staring at. In the middle of the room was a chair. Hanging above it was a scarf tied into a noose. “This chair and rope… Never a good arrangement.”

Phoenix felt his anxiety spike.

“Let’s go back. Look for an exit somewhere else.” Larry didn’t hesitate, quickly nodding in agreement.

The boys traversed the foggy world again, going back the way they came. As they walked, Phoenix could feel his body growing heavier and heavier. What was going on? He didn’t feel all that tired… His limbs were heavy, sure, but still… Just what was going on?

“Alright,” said Larry, muttering his thoughts out loud. “I’m seriously starting to feel sick…” Phoenix nodded. The headache he had last night was starting to return.

He wasn’t sure if he was relieved or not when they returned to the studio backlot. Maybe they should head off in another direction? There had to be something in this world other than the backlot and that creepy hotel from hell.

Phoenix was brought out of his thoughts when Larry grabbed his sleeve.

“What’s that?!” Phoenix raised a brow at hte boy’s panic until he pointed out somewhere in the fog. “Over there!”

Something indeed was in the middle of the fog. Phoenix felt himself go ridgid, both he and Larry slowly backing away out of fear. It came closer, with footsteps so soft that Phoenix could barely hear them. Just what was this thing?! It wasn’t human-shaped, and it was growling and—

… Phoenix’s mind went blank as the creature finally stepped up on the stage and into view. It was a bear. Not even an actual bear, it was more like a bear mascot. Its fur was blue, and it wore some kind of red and white jumpsuit. There was a zipper going around its neck. Its wide, cartoonish eyes were staring at the two boys.

“What in the world…?” Phoenix muttered under his breath. The two boys relaxed as the bear came closer. Its eyes narrowed.

“Th-That’s what I wanna know!” stammered the bear. “Who are you guys…?” Phoenix blinked. It talked. The bear-mascot-thing actually talked.

“Wh-What are you?!” said Larry, trying to put on a brave facade. “You looking for a fight?!”

“D-Don't yell at me like that…” The bear cowered in fear at Larry’s sudden increase in volume. Phoenix swallowed something down. It didn’t seem all that dangerous… didn’t even have claws. Still remaining cautious, he took a few steps forward.

“Hey, it’s okay. We’re not going to hurt you,” Phoenix crouched down a little bit to try and get to the bear’s level. It was easier to catch flies with honey than with vinegar. Or in this case, bears. “Do you know what this place is?”

“This place is what it is. It doesn't have a name,” said the bear, beginning to calm down a little bit. “It's where I live.”

“You…” Larry blinked, “live here?” The bear nodded. Who could live in this fogged filled place?

“If I was you guys, I'd hurry back to the other side. Someone's been throwing people in here. It's a big headache.” Phoenix shot up, making the bear leap back. Someone was… what?

“Throwing people in?” Larry repeated. He and Phoenix exchanged a look with each other. “What are you talking about?”

That seemed to make the bear mad. “I dunno who's doing it!” he snapped, stamping his little foot. “I just want them to think before they go doing things like that!”

“Hey, quit yelling at us!” Larry really wasn’t taking anything from this bear thing, huh…? His yelling just made the bear go back to cowering again. “What are you?! What the heck is going on?!”

The bear ran behind Phoenix to hide from the other boy. He clung to his jacket, and Phoenix could feel him shaking.

“I already told you…” said the bear. “A-Anyways, you should hurry back.”

“Hey, we want out here as much as you! We just don’t know how!”

The bear growled. “That's why I'm saying I'll let you out!” Larry and Phoenix stared at it.

“Wait… What?” The bear nodded. Without stepping out from the security of Phoenix’s backside, he viciously stomped on the stage three times in a row. As soon as his foot hit the ground a third time, there was a small boom. A stack of TVs appeared in the middle of the stage, much the boy's surprise.

“What the hell?!” Larry exclaimed. They rounded around to the front. Phoenix touched one of the TVs’ screens. Yup, he could pass through them, too. And they were also big enough for them to crawl into. The bear came around behind them.

“Okay, now go, go, get outta here! I'm a busy bear!” Before the boys could question it, Phoenix felt one of the mascot’s plush hands on his back.

“Hey!” he said with a yelp, “what’re you doing?!”

“Stop pushing!” Larry shouted as the bear began to do exactly that. Without much of a warning, it shoved the pair into the TVs. The world around Phoenix started swimming, and it felt like he was being pulled by a rope upwards.

Before Phoenix knew it, he and Larry were on the floor of the Junes electronics section. Phoenix blinked. What… just happened.

“Did we…” said Larry from beside him, “make it back?” Phoenix only shrugged and the boys stood up as the speakers in the store chimed to life.

“ _ Attention, shoppers. Our daily limited-time sale will now begin at the side dish area on the first floor,” _ said a feminine voice as Phoenix looked around. His eyes went wide as he spotted something familiar hanging up in the store. “ _ Why not try the delicious, fresh produce Junes picked for you this morning as your side dish for dinner tonight? All ages are invited to take advantage of this incredible bargain! _ ”

“Crap, it's already late?! How long were we in there?” Larry exclaimed. There was a beat. “Phoenix?”

“Hey, Larry?” Larry only hummed as he came up to his compatriot’s side. “Doesn’t this poster look like the ones we saw? In that room.” The boy next to him only shrugged a little bit. He guessed that it was hard to tell. This poster still had it’s face...

“Isn’t this that singer? Hiiragi?” Phoenix nodded. “Her husband had an affair with that lady who died the other day.” Right… Yamano… Something came to mind and sent a chill up Phoenix’s spine.

“Hey, so does that mean…?” Phoenix’s thoughts started to come out of his mouth before he could stop them. “That weird room we saw… Could it be related to that Yamano lady's death…? There was that noose hanging from the ceiling…”

Larry socked Phoenix in the arm, snapping him out of his rambling with a sharp ‘ow’. “Stop! Stop! Stop! We gotta stop talking about this, I don’t think my heart can take it.”

Fair enough… Still… something about the whole experience wasn’t going to leave the boys’ minds that easily as it had entered.

* * *

**September 12**

**5:29 PM**

**Fey Residence**

Phoenix stuck with Larry for as long as he could. The boys tried to make sense of what had just happened, but no matter what, the only logic explanation they could come up with was that the whole thing was a shared dream. The pain they felt upon both entering and exiting that TV World proved that theory wrong.

By the time Phoenix returned to the Fey home, his mind and his body were sluggish… as well as a bit wet from the sudden rain that decided to catch him off-guard. For once, Mia was home before he was. Dinner was sitting on the stove, letting the scent of ramen hang thick in the air.

The Fey sisters were quiet when Phoenix walked in the door. The evening would be spent in silence. At least, that’s what Phoenix thought before Mia cleared her throat.

“Hey, Phoenix?” Phoenix hummed in response, glancing over at Mia as he passed her by. “Have you heard of Cindy Stone? She goes to your school, works at Junes?”

Phoenix raised a brow. “Yeah, why?”

“She never came home from school yesterday, so I was wondering if you had seen her.” Phoenix briefly froze. He had just seen her yesterday. “We've got people looking for her, but she hasn't been found yet…” Mia sighed, running her hands through her hair in frustration. “Work just keeps piling up…”

The news then started in the background. Was this a normal thing for the two of them to do?

“And now, more on the case still casting a shadow over Kurain.” Phoenix bit back a groan of his own as the announcer said that. After the day he had, the reminder of the murder was the last thing that he needed. “Not long ago, television announcer Mayumi Yamano was found dead in the small town. Up until now, her whereabouts prior to her death had been unknown. But the police investigation has found that she had been staying in the region's famous Fey Inn.”

Phoenix stopped, leaning against the partition between the kitchen and the living room. The Fey Inn?

“She had apparently been staying there alone,” the announcer continued. “Perhaps she was taking a vacation to recover from her ordeal…?”

“Oh yes, the Fey Inn! Their hot springs are first-rate,” said their fellow commentator, much to the surprise of the announcer. “The late manager's young nieces and daughter also works there, and it's rumored that her daughter will take over the inn when she turns eighteen. If that happens, she'll be one of the youngest managers on record! I should book another trip there!”

Her daughter? Phoenix cast a glance over at the dark-haired girl sitting on the couch. That had to be Maya, right?

“Uhh… I-I see…” The announcer cleared their throat. “Moving along, it's time for the weather report. The rain has begun to subside. From now until Tuesday morning, heavy fog warnings will be in effect in the Kurain region. Visibility will be severely reduced, so please be careful if you plan on driving in the area…”

The news continued on. Phoenix could briefly recall seeing Yamano at the inn on his first day here. And then she turned up dead the next day… And now the person who found her body, Cindy Stone, was missing. Phoenix sighed, carding a hand through his hair. First it was the TV, and now this. Just what was going on?

“Is the ramen ready?” Maya asked from her place curled up in the living room.

“Give it a second, Maya,” her sister replied. Phoenix then sneezed. He felt a chill run up his spine. What was this from? That TV world or the rain? Mia put a hand on his shoulder, making him jump.

“You okay, kid?” she asked him. Phoenix hastily nodded. He was fine… aside from the weariness he still felt from being in that other world… “Maya, can you go get the cold medicine?” Maya didn’t reply. She just did as she was told. “You should go to bed right after you take it.”

Phoenix only hummed in reply to that. He was too damn tired to argue. The heck did that other world do to him…? He hoped that it would all be a distant memory when school started again on Monday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things would not be a distant memory. Things will only get worse, then better because of what the next chapter has going for it at the end.
> 
> But yeah, Teddie is still Teddie in this AU. Like a few other characters throughout this AU, i couldn't find a suitable counterpart for them within Ace Attorney, so Teddie gets to stay in the story!
> 
> And uh... the next chapter is going to be a good one. I promise.
> 
> Next time:
> 
> Chapter 5: The Invincible Hero
> 
> I am thou, thou art I... thou art the one who shall open the door...


End file.
